A message from
Bishop Allan C. Bjornberg

Rocky Mountain Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Grace. Period.

Excerpt from Bishop Allan Bjornberg’s sermon at the closing worship of the Churchwide Assembly in August, 2009.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I confess to you that for most of my life I have struggled with punctuation. I have the credentials of an English major, but not the certainty. Perhaps that's why I became a theologian.

Punctuation is a definitive, certain, clarifying declaration, and theologians, despite their own propensity for proclamation, love questions—the continuing questions. And there are many. But for us as living theologians, the question at the heart of it always seems to be: Is it grace, period, or is it grace, comma? My head knows, but my heart hesitates.

Before the reformation days it was, without question, grace, comma. "Yours is the grace and mercy of God, comma, if you, or, comma, when you, or, comma, after you, or, comma, unless you, or, comma, until you ..."

Immersed in Scripture, deeply scarred and shaped by their own pilgrimage, Luther and the reformers brought a new editing style. "Christ alone," they said. Period. "Grace alone," they said. Period. "Word alone." Period. "Faith alone," they said.

That's four alones. But as Luther himself said about the Holy Trinity, "Mathematics does not apply here." Grace. Period. But commas die hard. They keep coming back. Among others, Puritans arose in 17th century in England, and brought a boatload of commas to New England, liberally seeding American religious topsoil—not "God loves you period," but rather, God loves you, comma, if ..."

Let's be honest about the broad American cultural understanding surrounding us, and let's admit that many believers, and non-believers as well, are infected by commas.

And let's admit that we humble and shy Lutherans have our pockets full of them as well. One of my colleagues said, "I have to admit I preach grace, but I live works-righteousness."

The only cure, it seems to me, for life-threatening, faith-threatening commas is Baptism. Immersed in Christ, we become part of the Body of Christ. As if by osmosis, our life and the life of Christ are one. This is the eucharistic mystery Jesus repeatedly proclaims in the sixth chapter of John. "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them," Jesus said.

And the disciples said, "Huh?” Question mark.

Jesus said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father." I give you myself, and you partake of me. I am living bread." "I give you myself, and you partake of me, and you become bread."

There is no other Christ, sisters and brothers, but the wounded, crucified and risen Christ. And there is no other Body of Christ but the wounded Body of Christ. And you have touched it.

Of course, there will be many question marks. We know that. That's Lutheran too, you know? What does this mean?

But finally the right punctuation is our living in God’s grace. Grace. Period.

And not grace, period, for me and grace, comma, for you, but Grace. Period. For me. Period. For you. Period. For God's beloved world.

Grace. Living in Christ, and Christ living in us, making us again and again his Body.

--Bishop Allan Bjornberg

Bishop Allan Bjornberg presented the sermon at the Closing Worship of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August, 2009.

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